+ 0Ss
-jj> AUS) T KA L ItA
PRIME MOVOIST PRESS STATEMENT NiO. 503
April 1975
AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL AWARDS SCHEME
The Prime Minister, Mr Whitlam. announced
today the intention of the Australian Government to
increase the number of Australian International Awards
( AIAS) for Commonwealth Carribean countries to
approximately ten each year. Nominations for awards
would generally be for short-term specialist and
post-graduate studies although undergraduate nominations
would be considered in special cases. The Australian

US r K AL AS
PRMP mol~ r PRESS STATEMENT NO. 502
April 1975
WEST INDIAN CRICKET AWARD
The Prime Minister, Mr Whitlam, announced
today that the Australian Government has decided to offer
a new trophy for cricketers in the West Indies.
The trophy will be known as the " Australian
Award for the Best West Indian Cricketer of the Year."
It will be awarded on the basis of
performances in the Intra-regional Shell Shield competition
on the basis of the recommendation of West Indian cricket
authorities. The trophy will be passed on from year to

JOINT COMMUNIQUE BY THE PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA, MR.
E. G. WHITLAM AND THE PRIME MINISTER OF PERU, MAJOR GENERAL
FRANCISCO MORALES BERMUDEZ
At the invitation of the. Government of Peru, the Prime Minister
of Australia, The Honourable E. G. Whitlam, accompanied by the
Special Minister of State, The Honourable L. F. Bowen, paid
an official visit to Peru from 24 to 27 April 1975.
The Prime Minister was received by the President of the
Republic, Major General Juan Velasco Alvarado, and the Prime

SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER. OF AUSTRALIA,
THE HON. E. G. WHITLAM, M. P.,
TOWN HALL, LIMA PERU 25 APRIL 1975
Thank you Mr Mayor, for the honour you have
done me and all Australians in this ceremony today.
It is surely one of the curiosities of history that
while an Australian Prime Minister was born in South
America, this is the first time an Australian Prime
Minister has paid a visit to the continent. Those
events are separated by 108 years. For the benefit of
Austr Alians who may have forgotten their history, I

Embargo : Sunday 5 pm
PRIME MINISTER'S QUEENSLAND BROADCAST NO. 6
DEFENCE
Sunday 27 April 1975
Since the recent unhappy turn of events in Indo-China
the Opposition parties in Canberra have been rubbing their
hands in glee in the belief that they can capitalise on a
supposed weakness in Australia's defences. They have fostered
the myth the damaging myth that our defences are neglected
and run-down. Of course, where defence matters are concerned,
I don't suppose we should take much notice of the men who

PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS CONFERENCE
LIMA, PERU
APRIL 1975
PRIME MINISTER: The Prime Minister, General Morales Bermudez
and I will issue a statement to the press on Sunday morning
that will include many of the things, most of the things, that
we discussed yesterday and which some others of his ministers
have discussed yesterday and today. In view of this I suppose
there are some matters which you would like to ask me in
anticipation. QUESTION: Could you give us details of the purchase of the
Nomad aircraft. Has that been finalised?

Jjj AU ~ ALIA( Press Statement
24 April 1975
STATEMENT BY THlE PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA, THE HON.
E. G. WHITLAM, ON ARRIVAL IN LIMA, PERU
I am delighted to be in Peru and the historic
capital of Lima. This is the first visit to Peru by
an Australian Prime Minister indeed to any South
American country but it is not the first by a minister
of the Australian Labor Government. The Minister for
Foreign Affairs, Senator Willesee, visited Peru in 1974
during a tour which took him also to Mexico, Venezuela,

4-7
Press Statemnt 24th April, 1975
PRIME MINISTER'S OVERSEAS VISIT
The Prime Minister, Mr. Whitlau, left Australia on
23rd April to attend the Commonwealth H-eads of Government
Meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, and to pay official visits
to Peru and the United States.
He will return to Australia on 11th May. His
itinerary is attached.
Before leaving Australia, Mr. Whitlam reaffirmed
Australia's support for the Commonwealth as a unique multiracial
grouping. He said that the Commnonwvealth was a

PRIME MINISTER PRESS STATEMENT NO./, L-C-
23 April 1975
JOINT PRESS STATEMENT BY THE1 PRIME MINISTER, MR WHITLAM,
AND THE TASMANIAN PREMIER, MR NEILSON
The Australian and Tasmanian Governments have
agreed on the terms for the transfer to the Australian
Government of the Tasmanian rail system.
The announcements were made jointly toda~ y
by the Prime Minister, Mr Whitlam and the Tasmanian
Premier, Mr Neilson. The agreements were concluded at discussions
in Canberra on Tuesday between Mr Whitlam, Mr Neilson

l~> AUSIT AI
PRIME MINISTER PRESS STATEMENT N._
23 April 1975
ARTHUR BOYD'S GIFT TO NATIONAL GALLERY
The Prime Minister, Mr Whitlam, announced
today that the Interim Council of the Australian
National Gallery has accepted the generous offer
of a gift from one of Australia's most prominent
artists, Mr Arthur Boyd, who has presented to the
Gallery a large collection of his work dating from
his earliest years as an artist. The gift is
conservatively valued at $ 1,900,000.'
Mr Whitlam said that the Interim Council was